


The Pemberley Placement

by midnightstylus



Series: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Episodes 1-75 universe [2]
Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-03
Updated: 2013-02-03
Packaged: 2017-11-28 01:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/668781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightstylus/pseuds/midnightstylus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Speculative descriptions of how the episodes of the Pemberley story arc in the LBD web series might play out. This chronologically occurs before my other story, "The Last Two Episodes". Valid for the Episodes 1-75 universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Episode 1: The Placement Begins

The episode opens, as usual, onto Lizzie, but things are different this time. She's closer to the camera, her face has that slight concavity which is characteristic of the self-filmer, and the camera is moving, shaky. Clearly, she's on a handheld.

"Hi, viewers!" she enthuses. "Today I decided to do something new - it's my first day at my next shadowing placement, and I thought I'd vlog the whole introduction with the handheld I got for Christmas!" Gesturing widely with her free arm, she moves a bit so that she's not taking up the entire shot, and so that the audience can see more of her surroundings. The view is that of an open, well-appointed office lobby, with decor that is both tasteful and modern, with, somehow, a hint of fun. "My name is Lizzie Bennet," she says enthusiastically, "and this...is Pemberley Incorporated!"

After the animated logo and accompanying theme music, we return to Lizzie filming herself, but this time we're walking with her down a long office corridor. We can see a little bit of a woman, dressed very professionally, walking ahead of her. Lizzie keeps her voice low as she talks to the camera. "So here we are, at the offices of the high-profile media company, Pemberley Incorporated. It's very well-established, apparently on its third generation of family ownership. Dr. Gardner got me this placement, she thought it would be a great opportunity for me to develop industry contacts, plus, it makes a really interesting contrast to a start-up like Collins & Collins, which, as I'm sure you remember, was my first placement!"

She looks back to cast a glance at her surroundings. "And I have to admit, my first impression is that it is really awesome here! The premises are... _amazing_ , and everyone I've dealt with so far is super-nice. This," she continues, raising the handheld a little bit to give us a better view of the woman leading her around, "is Mrs. Reynolds, the executive assistant of the company's _president_." We can see that Mrs. Reynolds is a very pleasant-looking woman near retirement age, who smiles warmly back at Lizzie and the camera as she's introduced. Lizzie gives a laugh. "I'm not sure why a little student like me merits a personal tour from an executive assistant, but apparently...I do!"

Ahead of her, Mrs. Reynolds chuckles. "No mystery there, dear," she says. "Nurturing new talent is part of Pemberley's core values." Astonishingly, she manages to say this very genuinely, without sounding like she's reading robotically from the company's mission statement. Lizzie turns back to the camera with a gleeful grin, clearly very happy with the situation.

The next few minutes are filled with various cuts of Lizzie's initial tour. We get a quick peek at various departments, with some introductory commentary from Mrs. Reynolds on each one. The physical layout througout the offices is very collaborative, and everyone Lizzie meets is friendly and welcoming, obviously happy to work there. The camera even manages to catch a couple of quiet comments made to Lizzie about how supportive and approachable upper management is within the company. Lizzie makes a point of leaning in towards the camera after leaving each area to whisper various comments.

"Did you see the SIZE of those monitors?!"  
"The people here are SO NICE!"  
"There's a freakin' POOL TABLE in the staff lounge!"  
"My gawd, I feel completely inadequate now. What am I DOING here?"

The highlight of the tour for Lizzie, though, is clearly the A/V studio, where all the equipment is totally state-of-the-art. As they're leaving the studio, Lizzie gives the camera an expressive jaw-drop expression, and comes closer to whisper, "Charlotte, I wish you were here, you would LOVE THIS!"

Finally, as we walk down the most sumptuously-decorated corridor yet, Mrs. Reynolds announces that she's going to show Lizzie to her desk. Lizzie gives an amazed chuckle and tentatively says, "That's...terrific, thank you! Um...I don't mean to be rude or anything, but don't you have more important things to do than show me my desk? Doesn't the president expect you to like, take a memo for him or something?"

Mrs. Reynolds smiles again. "Actually no, Mr. Darcy is on a business trip out of town, so I'm not as busy as usual today."

The camera joggles alarmingly as Lizzie whips her head around to stare, horrified, at Mrs. Reynolds. "I'm sorry...WHO is on a business trip?"

Mrs. Reynolds looks politely surprised. "Mr. Darcy, the president of Pemberley."

Lizzie begins to stammer incoherently. "The...the...the...pr..." She shoots a quick, panicked look back at the camera. "Pemberley is DARCY'S company? PEMBERLEY is Darcy's company?!"

Mrs. Reynolds now looks a bit taken aback. "Of course," she says. She looks more closely at Lizzie, and tilts her head inquiringly. "Why, do you... _know_ Mr. Darcy?"

There is an awkward pause while Lizzie works out how to answer this startling question. "Um...yes. Yes, I do. We, uh...we met this summer."

Mrs. Reynolds looks absolutely delighted. "How wonderful!" she exclaims. "Well then, you already know how personable and accessible he is!"

Lizzie blinks rapidly in response.

Fortunately, Mrs. Reynolds doesn't notice this gobsmackery, as she's already turned away to point out some portraits on the wall. "And in that case, of course, you'll recognize this..."

Lizzie manages to recover her senses enough to raise the camera to point at the portraits. There are three of them, each mounted in an ornate wooden frame, each showing a handsome, dark-haired man, all showing a clear family resemblance to each other. The right-most portrait will be excessively familiar to anyone who's watched episodes 60 and 61 of Lizzie's videos: William Darcy.

"Yes," Lizzie manages to choke out. "Yes, I certainly do."

Mrs. Reynolds points to the centre portrait. "And that's Mr. Darcy Senior, Mr. Darcy's father." She takes a moment to let out a wistful sigh. "We lost him a few years ago, you know."

Lizzie frowns. "No, I didn't."

Mrs. Reynolds nods, looking quite sad. "Yes, it was a terrible tragedy. Car accident, coming back from dinner one evening with his wife. Drunk driver, plowed right into them. They were both killed."

Lizzie looks appalled. "That's horrible!"

Her guide gives another sigh. "It was. We were all devastated here. But I think it was worst for poor Georgiana."

Lizzie inhales sharply as she recalls that Darcy has a younger sister. "Oh, no!" she exclaims with sudden empathy. "She would have been so young!"

Mrs. Reynolds nods again. "Fortunately though, she and her brother have always been very close, and of course he's quite a bit older than she is; so he was a tremendous support for her." Another sigh. "I've often wondered whether he ever managed to find any support for _himself_..." She trails off thoughtfully, then gives her head a little shake. "At any rate, the staff were all a bit nervous when he took over the running of the company; so young, you know...and," she laughs, "it was _definitely_ odd for those of us who had been at Pemberley long enough to remember him as a little boy toddling around under the desks when he visited his father's office! But," she continues, not seeing Lizzie's eyes going wide and looking back expressively at the camera at the idea of William Darcy as a tiny boy, "he had been working here for a few years already before the accident, and his father had obviously taught him very well. Of course there was a pretty steep learning curve at first, but he really has a natural gift for leadership. And he's _very_ knowledgeable and insightful. And _such_ a hard worker! It's almost impossible to get him to go home and take a break!"

Lizzie smiles ruefully and her tone becomes sardonic. "Yes, I...I have noticed that about him. Laptop...texting...even when he's not at the office, he's at the office."

This comment is met with a laugh. "Exactly!" agrees the older woman. "But," she muses thoughtfully, "I suppose he has to have _something_ to fill the void..." She tsks at herself and looks around, frowning. "Of course, you mustn't think that I would speak so openly about him to anyone who wasn't his friend," she assures Lizzie, who looks very taken aback at being given this label.

"Oh, no," she stammers. "No, of course not."

Mrs. Reynolds smiles. "It's a pity you won't be seeing him today."

Lizzie takes a deep breath. "So he's definitely _not_ here, then?"

"No, we don't expect him back for a few days."

Lizzie looks immensely relieved, and follows Mrs. Reynolds further down the hall as her guide picks up the tour from where they left off, heading around a corner. Lizzie walks backwards so that the camera's pointing in the direction she's travelling, and leans in to whisper in a panicked tone, "Now I just have to figure out how to avoid seeing him for the rest of my placement!"

"Now, _your_ office, dear, is going to be just down...oh!"

As Lizzie rounds the corner after Mrs. Reynolds, the reason for this startled exclamation is instantly obvious. There, coming down the new corridor in the opposite direction, is William Darcy his own very tall self. It takes him a moment to recognize Lizzie, since she has her back to him, but even from that angle, she must somehow be recognizable to him, because he suddenly stops walking and stiffens in utter surprise, eyes wide, throat swallowing convulsively.

Lizzie, however, doesn't see him at all at first, and continues walking. It's only when her guide exclaims, "My goodness William, we didn't expect you back until Thursday!" that we get to see _her_ incredibly pronounced reaction. She, too, stops instantly, and joins Darcy in his amusingly accurate impression of a deer caught in the headlights before turning...very...slowly...around.

Their eyes meet.

The view abruptly and stomach-churningly drops, as Lizzie completely forgets about holding the camera up and lets her arm fall to her side. The audience is treated to an entirely unhelpful view of Darcy's knees. Aside from that, it's audio only.

"Darcy."

"Lizzie."

The screen goes black.


	2. Episode 2: What Happened Next

Lizzie is seated in a very nice office, and in contrast to the previous episode, the camera is steady this time. She's dressed much more professionally than we usually see her, and frankly, she looks really nice, if you ignore the aura of awkwardness emanating from her at the moment.

"Hey Internet," she greets with a limp wave, "Yes, we're once again here at Pemberley, and yes, this is my," she pauses to take a quick look around the room, " _incredibly_ nice office." She looks back at the camera with a disbelieving expression. "They've put me up in one of the rooms they keep available for any consultants they might bring in, and it's... _awesome_. For one thing, you would not believe how quickly they got me all connected up with the company's network, which is totally-" She stops herself suddenly, smiling self-deprecatingly. "But of course, you're not really interested in hearing anything about that, are you?" She gives a small shake of her head. "No...I've been reading all of your Tweets and your comments since the last episode, and I know! All you guys _really_ want to hear about is, _what happened after you and Darcy saw each other in the hallway_?"

A cut, and she shakes her head disbelievingly. "Really, Internet?"

Another cut. "You're all about the _hallway_ drama now?"

Another cut, and she holds her hands out expansively. "Buuuut, you know me, I'm all about making you guys happy!"

Another cut, and she's looking thoughtfully off into a corner of the ceiling. "And honestly, I guess from a certain perspective, the whole situation could be considered pretty funny..."

Another cut, and she's dripping with sarcasm. "Not _my_ perspective, of course..."

Another cut, and we're back to broad hand gestures. "But anyway...hallway drama it is!"

Another cut, and her hands are in her lap. She takes a deep breath, and makes the intro: "My name is Lizzie Bennet, and...here's what happened next."

The theme music and animated logo play, and then we're back to the same view we had at the end of the previous episode: Darcy's knees. However, we've obviously backed up a few seconds from the episode's end, because...

"Darcy."

"Lizzie."

Awkward silence.

It's Darcy who recovers first; we see his knees move as he shifts his weight a bit. When he speaks, his tone is very different from anything we've heard so far, either by his imitators or his actual self - no more of the tense, uptight voice that sounds as though it's critical of everything and everyone; but instead, relaxed and friendly.

"How good to see you again. Have you been well?"

A confused pause.

"Ye...uh..." Lizzie clears her throat. "Yes...thank you...I've been doing...fine."

"I'm very glad to hear that. I hope your sisters and your parents are also very well?"

Another pause, in which we can only assume that Lizzie has blinked more than a few times. "Um, yes, yes they are..."

"And how are your studies going? Not too stressful, I hope?"

"My studies..." she repeats. The camera gives a convulsive wiggle. "Oh...yes!" The view is lurched upright once again; Lizzie must have recalled that she's holding a camera which is still recording. We can once again see what's going on: she's off to the side of the frame, with her head visible, looking around at Darcy. In between them is Mrs. Reynolds, smiling patiently, neutrally observing their exchange of pleasantries.

Darcy's eyes flick over to the camera. A small tremor passes over his face, and his eyebrows quirk. "You're filming," he states, reverting to his usual sardonic tone. "Again."

Lizzie flushes and chokes out a bit of a laugh, avoiding his eyes. "Yes...sorry...I'm just vlogging my tour here..." she trails off as it hits home that 'here' is his company, which she's unknowingly made her way into.

Darcy recovers fairly quickly, though. He abandons the uptight manner again, giving Lizzie a mild but genuine smile, the effect of which is kind of stunning. "And on a handheld - that'll be a very effective departure from your usual style, I think it's perfect for documenting a tour."

Lizzie smiles back confusedly, although still not quite looking directly at him. "Yeah...it...was a Christmas present."

His smile deepens. It does lovely things to his face. "I hope your holidays were very pleasant."

Lizzie blinks back. "Yes, they were...thank you."

He nods, but doesn't immediately say anything. Lizzie is obviously feeling much too out of her depth to be able to fill the conversational void herself, but before the silence stretches out too awfully, Mrs. Reynolds steps in. "Well, perhaps I should show Lizzie to her desk, and you can catch up more later once she's settled in?"

They both turn to look at her, evidently relieved. Darcy nods, and Lizzie manages a weak, "Okay!"

Mrs. Reynolds turns to Darcy. "I thought Consultant Room C would be best for her," she tells him.

He nods affably in reply. "Indeed. Thank you," he confirms. With a last look and faint smile at Lizzie, he walks off in the direction he was originally headed. Lizzie's head turns to watch him go, and then looks meaningfully at the camera with an astonished expression.

"It's just this way," says Mrs. Reynolds, and Lizzie tears herself away from the camera to turn and follow her.

Strategic editing cuts make the trip to Lizzie's new desk and Mrs. Reynold's showing of it very short. Eventually we see Lizzie setting down the handheld so that she can vlog seated at her desk, and her attention is focused beyond the camera. We can hear Mrs. Reynolds' voice saying, "Just settle yourself right in and finish filming, and then come see me, we'll get the IT folks to set you up with your connectivity. My office is just across from where the portraits are, you remember?"

Lizzie nods, smiling gratefully. "Thank you!"

Another cut, and Lizzie is facing the camera directly. She heaves a massive sigh, and opens her eyes wide and expressively. "Well... _that_ was...uh...what it was...?" She clutches her chest. "Of all the bizarre quirks of fate! Can you BELIEVE that?!" Her expression becomes even more amazed. "And can you believe _Darcy_?! Frankly, I'm having a hard time believing that that was really _him_! He was..." she gropes for the right word, "... _nice_?" She frowns thoughtfully. "I didn't know that was...possible." She looks back to the camera. "But I guess...it must be...I mean, did you _hear_ all those people talking about how fabulous he is?" She looks completely at sea. " _Darcy_?!" Her hands come up to rub at her temples as she tries to process it all. "I just don't get it...I mean, how has he changed so much since the summer? Or...but...well, according to everyone who works here, he's actually been that nice all along, and he just...didn't ever... _show_ it?" She looks helplessly at the camera. " _And_ , how can he be so _nice_ to someone who rejected him so... _completely_? Not to mention publicly! Shouldn't he actually despise me? I don't get it!" She looks embarrassed, and then, suddenly horrified. "Oh gawd...what if he thinks I got myself this placement on _purpose_?"

She sits there for a moment, her hands over her mouth. But whatever she was thinking of saying next is cut off as we hear a knock at the door. "Come in?" she calls, looking over beyond the camera.

We hear the click of the door opening, and then the sound of Darcy's voice, polite and gentle. "Lizzie?"

She immediately stands up, pushing her head out of the frame. "Darcy!"

"No no, don't get up," comes the response, with all the politeness we heard earlier in the hallway. "I just wanted to check in now that you're at your desk...oh...you're still filming...I shouldn't disturb you."

Lizzie gestures unconsciously toward the camera. "Oh no, no, it's okay, you don't have to...I mean...well, you could come in...if you wanted, and, uh..."

There's a pause.

"Alright," he answers, though his tone sounds more tense than before. Lizzie sits back down and scooches sideways a bit as Darcy grabs a chair and comes to sit in front of the camera as well. He gives it the briefest of eyebrow quirks before smiling at Lizzie. "I didn't really get to say hello properly before," he ventures.

"Right," she manages to get out. "Well..." Casting around for a conversation topic, she looks back at Darcy. "This is...quite the amazing company you have here."

He looks pleased. "Do you like it? Did Mrs. Reynolds give you the full tour?"

She nods enthusiastically. "Oh yes, definitely...I mean, yes, I got the full tour, and yes, it really is incredible here. Your staff is...incredible, and the eqipment is...uh...incredible...and..." she gets visibly frustrated at not being able to come up a different adjective. "It's really delightful being here," she finally manages, awkwardly but sincerely.

"I'm glad," he answers, just as sincerely. "My family has worked very hard to make Pemberley a company of consequence, and a great place to work."

She nods. "Well, it definitely is that," she affirms. Then she blinks, and leans forward earnestly. "Look, Darcy, I...well...I mean, you mustn't think that I would ever have dreamed of, you know, putting myself in this kind of an awkward situation _on purpose_..." She takes a breath to steady herself. "It was my advisor at school who arranged for this placement. I had _no_ idea it was your company until Mrs. Reynolds said so. _And_ she said you weren't expected back in the office for a few days. I'm so sorry if my being here is...uh...inconvenient for you."

Darcy shakes his head in denial. "No, no..." he assures her, although he did tense up briefly when Lizzie mentioned the awkwardness of the situation. "It's quite true, I _wasn't_ expected back so early. I'm here now because I've just arranged to have some guests staying with me for a while, and I wanted to get some work at the office out of the way before they arrived."

"Ah," says Lizzie nodding.

Darcy nods back. "Yes, they're arriving tomorrow."

She nods again. Together, they look a bit like bobbleheads.

Darcy stops nodding, and looks off to the side. "My guests..." he clears his throat. "Well...it's Bing. And...Caroline."

Lizzie presses her lips together and tenses up, absorbing this. "Ah. I...see."

He takes a breath and looks back at her. "But also in town...well, obviously, as she lives here...is someone who has been wanting to meet you for a while." A clearly confused look meets this statement, so he clarifies. "My sister. Gigi."

Lizzie's eyebrows go right up in surprise. "Your sister!"

He nods again. "Yes. Would it...be too much of an imposition to introduce the two of you?"

Lizzie is obviously astonished, but just as obviously not annoyed or offended in the slightest. "No, I don't mind at all...I...it would be a pleasure to meet her," she finishes, trying to collect her wits back together into some semblance of politeness.

She gets a pleased smile in response, so much so that there's a brief flash of dimple. "Good. That's good!" He chuckles. "Frankly, I doubt I'd be able to keep her away from the office once she finds out that you're here." There's a brief pause, during which his glance strays nervously to the camera. Taking a vigorous breath in, he slaps his lap with his hands and stands, saying, "Well, I don't want to keep you from your day, I'm sure you've got lots of...filming...left to do. And settling in, too, of course." There's a pause, while she glances up at him in a kind of glazed way. Eventually, he extends a hand towards her. "I look forward to having you working here...Lizzie Bennet."

She reaches up a hand automatically to shake his offered one, and manages a feeble, "Mmm-hmm." Their hands release and he stays there a moment, evidently looking her, but of course since he's standing, we can't see his expression. Then he turns and goes. Her eyes follow his progress until we hear the door click behind him, at which point she looks blankly back at the camera.

A pause, and then she tilts her head. "What...just... _happened_ here?"

The screen goes black.


	3. Episode 3: Not Sucking

Today, Lizzie's filming in her office at Pemberley again, and her opening mood seems pretty chipper. "Hello, viewers!" she greets. "I've had a very interesting morning here at Pemberley. I spent it in the studio! I brought in a bunch of my raw video blog footage...I mean," she laughs, "from the _very_ early days, _before_ we started shooting stuff that Darcy's employees really, _really_ shouldn't see." She nods knowingly at the audience. "And we went through the editing process - very cool, I have to say!" Her eyes get wide and serious. "I really started to see different approaches to fine-tuning your cuts, and getting completely different takes on your finished video...yeah...wow." She makes a dismissive gesture with her hands. "Of course, it's not like we didn't cover the editing process at school, but...not like this. This is definitely the real deal, and the studio here is just _packed_ with talent."

A cut, and she's asking dramatically, "So what the heck am _I_ doing here?!"

Another cut, and she's frowning introspectively. " _Charlotte_ should be here."

Another cut, and she gives a helpless sort of shrug.

Another cut, and she's back to monologuing. "But seriously...there is a _lot_ I can learn from these people."

Another cut, and she's looking off thoughtfully into the distance. "Maybe I could spend a whole week sitting behind them and just watching them edit."

Another cut, and she lets out a bark of laughter, looking right at the camera. "Yeah, that wouldn't be annoying for them _at all_!"

Another cut, and she's smiling and shaking her head slowly. "Who would have thought that I'd be able to say working at _Darcy's_ company was so awesome." Her smile deepens. "And, there's an additional perk to working here that has happened, too! My name is Lizzie Bennet..." she leans toward the camera, confidential-like, "...and I have another new friend: ...Darcy's _sister_!"

There's a brief pause in the narrative while the theme song and animated logo play, and then we come right back to Lizzie. "Yes, Internet," she continues, "Miss Georgiana Darcy came into the office yesterday afternoon, and apparently, one of the first things she did when she got here was nag her brother until he brought her to my office to meet me."

She chuckles, then her face gets serious and she shakes her head. "Sorry, that makes her sound like a whiny little brat. Which she isn't." Lizzie leans forward earnestly. "At all. I know this is an odd thing to tell you about someone who shares the same DNA as William Darcy, but Gigi is a really lovely person. I like her a lot. Do you remember when Fitz said she was a cool kid, and that she and I would get along?" She smiles and inclines her head in acceptance of her buddy's prediction skills. "Well...he was very right."

A cut, and she's shaking her head laughingly. "Fitz Williams, is there _nothing_ you cannot do?"

Another cut, and she's pursing her lips a bit. "Now, I can see that some people _might_ interpret her as standoffish, or stuck-up, but..." she snorts contemptuously, "those people would not be paying very good attention, and would be making bad assumptions, because it is pretty obvious that she's actually just naturally shy. When you're encouraging, and let her get comfortable around you? She really starts to open up."

There's a pause, and her expression turns introspective. "Yeah," she says in a sardonic tone. "Not snobby, just shy." She pauses meaningfully. "Sound familiar?" She lets out a big exhale. "Yeah," she repeats. Wryly, she continues. "I'm coming to realise...that might actually be a family trait." She looks abashed. "Turns out, that's probably her brother's deal, too." She winces. "I think I really misjudged him. And then," she continues in a self-deriding, fake-cheerful tone, even adding some jazz hands for effect, "I took that judgment, and turned it into a whole bunch of assumptions every time I saw him after that!"

She perks up a little, though, and points her finger at the camera. "But to be fair, that 'decent enough' comment? That _sucked_. Darcy? _Not cool_. And breaking up Bing and Jane? Also bad!" She looks angry again, and then pauses to reflect. "Although, I still blame Bing just as much there, really."

A cut, and she's looking worried. "I have _no_ idea what I'll do if I run into Bing while he's here."

Another cut, and she's looking kind of freaked out. "And it'll be awkward as hell if I run into _Caroline_!"

Another cut, and she's holding her forehead. "Ugh, why do things have to be so _complicated_?!"

Another cut, and her shoulders are slumped. "But beyond those things that Darcy did? I'm...not sure anymore that he deserved _all_ the anger I threw in his direction." She sighs. "To be honest, I'm feeling kind of down about my ability to read people's characters at the moment." A frown mars her brow and she speaks in a small voice. "I'm actually thinking I've often sucked at being a good person recently."

After a pause, a deep, fortifying breath lifts her torso, and she brings up her chin determinedly. "But! I am done with assuming bad things about people I haven't gotten to know yet! I am going to grow! And learn! And become a better person! I am going to actively start trying _not_ to suck!"

She points an index finger into the air. "And I'm going to start by hanging out with Gigi! Who has..." here she starts looking nervous, "...invited me to play tennis with her tomorrow." She rolls her eyes. "I know, I know, I can hear you all now...'Wow, Lizzie, that sounds like really good exercise!'" She gives the camera a dirty look. "Why yes, yes, it will be good exercise...in _humiliation_!" She gesticulates wildly. "For the love of gawd, Gigi is _nationally ranked_! Whereas the last time _I_ played, I was in _high school_...or was it undergrad?" She shakes her head, and a rueful expression crosses her face. "Doesn't matter, because she is going to wipe the _floor_ with me." A frown. "Even though she's convinced that I'm worthy of playing her."

Lizzie rolls her eyes again. "Which is _insane_! But she says that Darcy told her I 'had a very fluid swing'." She looks directly at the camera with a dismissive expression. "You know _why_ Darcy thinks that? I figured it out. He must have been watching me when I mimed a backhand smash to Fitz one time at Catherine De Bourgh's." She sighs. "Yes, that's right. Gigi thinks I'm a," she does air quotes, "'great tennis player', because her delusional brother saw me do an _air swing_ and thought it looked good!"

She closes her eyes and shakes her head long-sufferingly. "I am so dead." However, she takes another deep breath, accompanied by a defiantly-raised chin. "But...she is my new friend...and I am going to start my resolution of not sucking as a person by...volunteering to suck at _tennis_." She looks resigned. "Yes."

A cut, and she's looking around the office. "At first I considered pretending to trip and hurt myself to get out of it, but this place is so ergonomically designed that there's _nothing_ I can believably claim to have tripped over!"

Another cut, and she's looking directly at the camera with a mixed look of panic and entreaty. "Send help?"

Another cut, and her expression has become saucy. "Especially if that 'help' is Rafa Nadal." She wiggles her eyebrows flirtatiously.

Another cut, and she's leaning towards the camera, grinning and whispering squeakily. " _So hot_!"

A final cut, and she's looking profoundly horrified at herself. "Omigawd...did I just sound like _Lydia_?"

The screen goes black.


	4. Episode 4: Tennis, Anyone?

Lizzie appears onscreen, looking very cheerful and energetic. She's in her office at Pemberley, and waves as she starts speaking. "Good morning, Internet! I'm back with the answer to the question you've been asking me pretty much _incessantly_ since my last video." She laughs and gestures broadly. "How did the tennis game go?" Putting her hands back in her lap, she eyes the camera coyly. "Well. In answer to this question, I ask another question: Who said anything about a tennis _game_? It would be much more accurate to say tennis game _zzz_."

She smiles. "My name is Lizzie Bennet...and I keep going back for more!"

The next few seconds are taken up with the theme song and animated logo, and then we return.

Lizzie starts right in. "Okay, so first of all, the nature of my tennis freakout changed pretty quickly when I found out that Gigi intended for us to play _at her house_.

A cut. "Yes, the Darcys have their own tennis courts - _plural_ \- at their home."

Another cut, and she clarifies: "Indoor _and_ outdoor."

Another cut, and her tone is amusedly sarcastic. "Of _course_ they do."

Another cut, and she continues the story. "So suddenly, my big concern was not so much how-am-I-going-to-live-down-being-demolished-by-a-far-superior-player, but more like, what-the-hell-will-I-do-when-I-run-into-Bing-and- _Caroline_!"

She sighs with relief. "Fortunately, that particular problem has not cropped up. Firstly, the tennis courts are on the exact opposite side of the house as the guest wing."

A cut, and she's shaking her head. "I should really stop calling it a house, actually. It's way too huge for that."

More cuts:

"Palace?"  
"Mansion?"  
"Estate?"  
" _Hotel_?!"

Another cut, and she's favouring the camera with an expression of amazement. "Remember when I was going on about how big _Netherfield_ was?"

Another cut, and her eyes widen. "Yeah...Not. Even. Close."

Another cut, and she spreads her arms out. "The place is absolutely _massive_! And only two people live there!"

Another cut, and she looks sad. "Yeah, that's kind of..." She tsks empathetically. "Gigi must be so...lonely! And D..." She looks away from the camera, frowning guiltily. "Um...I won't get into that. But...well...let's just say that I can understand how you might want to do a lot of travelling all over the place if that's your situation. And, um, how easy it might be to delude yourself that you've fallen...well."

There's an awkward pause.

Finally Lizzie shakes herself a bit, and exhales. " _Anyway_...so Bing and Caroline apparently don't play tennis, so I don't even think they know that I'm there...when I'm there." She smiles. "And also, Gigi says they go out a lot, so it's actually possible that even when I _am_ there...they're not."

She leans in towards the camera a bit. "I'm still always a bit nervous about it when I go over there to play, though." She leans back. "Just adds a little bit of tension to an already difficult situation!"

Her hands go up in a defensive gesture. "Not...that Gigi is difficult to get along with! _Definitely_ not. It's the tennis thing, really, that's still a bit difficult, especially since sometimes _Darcy_ watches us play."

A cut, and she rolls her eyes. " _So. Embarrassing._ "

Another cut, and she's frowning. "He stares at me a lot when we're playing." Her eyes flick sideways as she considers the possible motivations behind this. "You know, before coming here, I would just have said that he was feeling incredible contempt for my lack of skill...but _now_ , I am not going to blindly assume snobbery on his part." Her eyes flick back to the camera as she continues reflectively, "He must just be _willing_ me to be a better challenge for Gigi!" She laughs.

Continuing to smile, she goes on. "Although, you know, I have to say...the tennis is going _much_ better than I thought it would. Not because Gigi isn't as good as I expected...actually, she's terrific."

A cut, and Lizzie is staring wide-eyed at the camera. "Omi _gawd_."

Another cut, and Lizzie sings out, "Future Olympian, people!"

Another cut, and we're back on the main story. "But she never makes me feel incompetent about my game. Even _as_ she's beating me in straight sets!" Looking amazed, she nods. "Seriously, the girl is awesome. She always finds something about my playing to compliment, and tells me I'm really good...with _sincerity_! And," she adds, "she manages to give me tips without making it sound like she's correcting me!"

Lizzie looks mightily impressed. "I tell you, whenever she stops playing competitively, that girl is going to make a great coach. I've played with her three times so far, and my game has already improved! Which..." she admits, "is not to say that I have even the _ghost_ of a chance of beating her...but at least I know I could now trounce the 'me' of last week!"

She shifts contentedly on her chair. "So, tennis is actually proving to be really fun, even though it's tough, because she makes me work so hard. It's good to ramp up my fitness level...it's good to spend time with Gigi...it's good to play with amazing equipment, on amazing courts...and it's a treat to have a dip in a jacuzzi afterwards!" She pauses as a thought strikes her. "You know, when you combine how awesome working at Pemberley is with the tennis...this placement is feeling much less like work and way more like a vacation!" She gives a surprised laugh. "And of course, the socializing is nice, too. Gigi is still a little shy, but I think she's pretty close to getting completely over that with me. She's so friendly and eager to please!"

Lizzie shakes her head disbelievingly. "Honestly, I have no idea where this Gigi-wants-to-hang-out-with-Lizzie thing even _came_ from." She looks frankly at the camera. "Because she actively _wanted_ to meet me when I got here. She _insisted_ to Darcy that he introduce us." She frowns in confusion. "Why?! And how did she even care who I was?" She frowns in thought. "She couldn't _possibly_ have watched these videos, because she adores Darcy, and if she saw how I treated him before?" She looks uncomfortable. "I...really doubt she would ever speak to me again." She shrugs in confusion. "And I can't see Darcy gushing about me to her at home, since I...well...stomped on his heart in front of the entire Internet and everything," she mumbles.

She shrugs again. "Maybe Fitz mentioned me to her? I dunno." Then she perks up, looking seriously at the camera again. "But all of that other stuff, dear viewers, is why you will not be seeing Gigi on these videos." She nods emphatically. "I know, I know, I can hear you screaming at me already."

A cut, and she tilts her head. "Did you know that you guys are kinda predictable that way?"

Another cut, and she's back to the explanation. "But no, I am quite determined. First of all, Gigi isn't eighteen yet. And I was nervous enough posting video of _Bing_ without his permission...I don't want to worry about the ramifications of showing footage of a _minor_. No, thank you. And then, there's the thing where if Gigi _knows_ she's being filmed for my videos, that means she finds _out_ about my videos, which will probably mean she'll start _watching_ my videos..." Lizzie wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. "And then she'll see me yelling about him, and rejecting him...Darcy, I mean...of course...and then we're right back at the very undesirable situation of her hating my guts and never speaking to me again."

She waves a hand airily. "To say nothing of the fact that I am _sure_ she would be far too shy to agree to come on the videos anyway." She gives a final, decisive shake of her head. "So, _no_. No Gigi. Sorry, Internet! You're just going to have to be satisfied with hearing me _tell_ you how lovely she is."

She looks away, tapping her lips thoughtfully with a finger. "Or maybe _showing_ you. Hmmm..." Her eyes flick back to the camera, and she grins brightly. " _I_ am going to need a new prop!"

A cut, and she's looking searchingly around the room. "Where's that tennis racket..."

The screen goes black.


	5. Episode 5: Bing! Unexpected

We see the now-usual background of Lizzie's office at Pemberley, and she's looking really eager today. "Hi, Internet! Okay, I know that hearing about my _work_ life is not what the vast majority of you tune in for, but I'm sorry, I can't resist talking about it today!" She brings her hands together in a childlike, gleeful gesture. "I spent the morning working with the guys in the social media area, and it was so _awesome_!" She leans in and widens her eyes. "The creativity of their campaigns is not to be _believed_. I mean, the different strategies they use to try and send stuff viral goes so far beyond just putting up a YouTube video and tweeting about it, I can barely describe it!" She shakes her head, then bites her lip. "Unfortunately, although I'm dying to talk about exactly what they're working on, I obviously can't, because...you know...proprietary information for clients and all that." She sighs. "Let's just say that I had _no idea_ how creative...or diabolical, actually...you could be with marketing dollars until today."

A cut, and she's looking up at the ceiling and gesturing widely with splayed fingers. " _I love this place!_!"

Another cut, and she sighs forlornly. "My name is Lizzie Bennet...and I really, _really_ don't want to have to leave Pemberley. Ever."

The animated logo and theme song follow this extraordinary announcement. When we return, we see Lizzie nodding her confirmation. "Yes, that's right." She shrugs expressively. "I can barely believe it, either! But it is _so good_ working here. And not just because of the work, either. Like, this week?" She guffaws just thinking about what she's about to say. "Darcy sent round an email to everybody on Monday pronouncing it 'Stupid Valentine's Shirt Week'." Another laugh. "The idea is, that everybody brings in an ugly heart-themed top and wears it around the office." She laughs again. "You would not _believe_ the hilarious stuff some people are bringing in! One woman in HR even has a sweater she _handknitted_ for herself a couple of years ago, with two sets of concentric hearts on the chest..." she giggles some more, gesturing to her general bosom area, "...with tiny _three-dimensional_ hearts right where...well..." she briefly points to nipple level before being overcome with laughter and embarrassment.

" _Anyway_ , this thing has totally taken on a life of its own - there's even going to be a fashion show so everyone can show off, and the directors have all pledged prizes for the best shirts!" She suddenly gets serious. "And the most incredible part is, Darcy said in his email that, for each employee who emails him a picture of them wearing their heart stuff while at the office...he will go to the Oxfam 'America Unwrapped' website and buy a 'dig a well' gift for a community in need!" She lets her jaw drop and her eyes get all big again. "I'm not quite sure how many employees there _are_ here at Pemberley, but I know there are enough that this means him spending _tens_ of _thousands_ of dollars, because _everyone's_ getting in on it around here!" She looks down at her own perfectly normal office attire, and picks self-consciously at her blazer a little bit. "I didn't...pack anything with hearts on it myself, but Mrs. Reynolds promised to bring in something I could wear, so that Darcy'll buy a community well because of me, too."

She shakes her head, impressed. "Apparently, he does stuff like this throughout the year. Talk about changing the world!" She gives a sheepish smile. "I thought it was pretty awesome." She leans towards the camera, eyebrows raised. "He's even managed to convince Gigi to come in at the end of the week to help him announce the final well total to the staff." She chuckles. "She is _so_ nervous about it."

A cut, and Lizzie is doing costume theatre, Gigi-style: she's got lots of bracelets on her wrists that jingle when she moves, and she has a tennis racket cradled in one elbow. She's affecting a nervous perkiness, and she speaks really quickly. "Omigawd Lizzie, Will said I should come in and make the announcement in front of _everybody_ , how am I _ever_ going to work up the nerve, what do I do, will you help me?!"

Lizzie takes another breath, but before she can imitate what Gigi said next, there's a knock at the door. Hastily, she wrenches off the bracelets, provoking some serious jingling. "Um, hold on!" she exclaims, as she quickly leans to the side, slightly out of frame.

A cut, and she's managed to stash the bracelets and the tennis racket somewhere. With her attention now focused beyond the camera, she calls out, "Come in?"

We hear the sound of the door clicking open, and watch Lizzie's expression turn to one of astonishment. "Oh...my...gawd..." she says incredulously.

A familiar gentle, male voice can be heard from off-camera. "Lizzie? Gigi told me you'd started working here!"

Lizzie's mouth falls open and she blinks many times in quick succession. "Bing!" she says, obviously totally gobsmacked.

There's a short pause, then Bing speaks again. "Oh...I'm so sorry...am I interrupting your work?"

Lizzie looks over at the camera confusedly, then back towards Bing. "Uh...oh...er...no, not really...I'm just filming some...footage...but it's not important, I can get back into it later."

"Do you mind if I come in?"

Looking completely at sea, Lizzie shakes her head and gestures for him to take a seat next to her, rolling her own chair to the side to give him room. "Uh...no...no, please...do...?"

We see Bing enter the frame, courteously giving his characteristic warm, genuine smile to the camera as he brings in a second chair and sits down. Then he turns the smile on Lizzie. "I just thought it would be really nice to come visit an old friend. It's so good to see you again!"

Lizzie's jaw is still fairly agape, but she manages to smile back. Despite her shock, his warmth and sincerity are obviously making it truly nice for her to see him again. "It's...good to see you, too." She shakes her head and gives a small laugh. "Yeah, really good!" she repeats, as if surprised to be able to say this. "It's been...awhile..." she ventures, looking at him half-expectantly.

Bing nods eagerly, but then his expression turns very wistful. "Five whole months exactly on Friday. Since my birthday party." He nods absently, looking even more regretful. "That was such a great evening. It was so nice when...we...were all together. In the summer." He looks down at his hands briefly, shyly and a bit sadly, before looking back up inquiringly. "I hope...all your family is well? Especially...your sisters?"

Lizzie's gaze has followed his down and back up, and she seems simultaneously both sympathetic and confused. "Yes...they're well."

Bing's look becomes more intense. " _All_...your sisters? Quite well?"

Lizzie nods reassuringly. "Yes...yes, of course." She flicks a brief glance toward the camera before looking at him again, and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Bing...I don't know if-"

Her words are interrupted as we hear the door of Lizzie's office banging open; she and Bing both look up suddenly, their eyes fixed at a point beyond the camera. Lizzie looks immediately wary when she sees who has entered.

Another familiar voice, female, and dangerously sweet, speaks off-camera. "Why, _Lizzie Bennet_! How astonishing to see you here!"

Lizzie squares her jaw and spares a quick, narrow-eyed look for the camera before focusing back. " _Caroline_ ," she says ominously. "We meet again."

Bing is, clearly, completely oblivious to the hostile tension suddenly filling the room, and smiles back and forth between the two women. "Yes, it turns out that Lizzie has a job here at Pemberley, isn't that great? Nice office, too," he muses, looking around for the first time. "You must have a very senior position here?" he asks Lizzie, looking pleased and impressed.

Before Lizzie can say a word, a delicate, tinkling laugh can be heard off-screen. "Oh _Bing_ ," Caroline says, "Lizzie hasn't even finished _grad school_ , I'm sure she can hardly have a senior position at _Pemberley_ , of all places _..._ _can_ you, Lizzie?"

Lizzie's expression tightens, but she looks back at Bing and nods honestly at him. "That's true, this isn't an actual job...I'm only...I _am_...shadowing Pemberley...as part of an independent project, for my final year of study."

Bing looks nothing less than absolutely delighted. "That sounds like a great challenge!" he enthuses.

Lizzie can't help but respond warmly to his enthusiasm, and she nods. "It is, it's fabulous being here," she returns.

Bing's about to make another friendly comment when Caroline speaks again. "But _Bing_ , we really mustn't interrupt Lizzie's day. I'm sure she's got a _lot_ of things to do as part of her placement." She gives another silvery little laugh. "You must be so _sick_ of making coffee by now, poor _thing_!"

Lizzie looks like she's chewing hard on her own tongue. "Actually, coffee-making is hardly part of the-"

She's interrupted by Bing's looking mildly horrified and standing up. "Oh Lizzie, I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to bother you! Caroline's right, I should be more considerate of your work."

Lizzie gives a resigned sigh, but then looks up at Bing with a genuine smile. "No, really Bing, _don't_ worry about it. You weren't getting in the way at all. But I'm sure we can talk later instead."

There's an audible intake of breath from off-camera. "Oh, I'm sure we couldn't _possibly_ interrupt you at the office again."

We can see Bing's torso turn to face where Caroline must be, and he speaks enthusiastically. "Well then, we'll just have to see Lizzie outside of office hours, won't we? Maybe Darcy could invite her over to his place on the weekend, we could all have dinner together!"

There is a palpable silence, during which Lizzie barely suppresses her amusement, presumably at the less-than-thrilled expression which must surely now be gracing Caroline's face.

"Perhaps," Caroline is eventually forced to respond. "But in the meantime, we should really leave Lizzie alone."

Bing's torso turns back towards Lizzie. "Sure, of course. Well, it was _really_ great to see you again, Lizzie, I hope we see you soon, and...um...do send my best wishes to...all of your family?"

Lizzie smiles warmly back in response. "Of _course_ I will."

Bing leaves the frame and Lizzie's eyes follow his progress briefly before we cut forward in time. The Lees have obviously left by this point, and Lizzie is giving the camera the stink-eye and a slow head-shake. " _Caroline_ ," is all she says in a low, intense voice, but really, no more needs to be said; the audience can easily guess pretty much what she's thinking.

The screen goes black.


	6. Episode 6: NOW I Know What Evil Women Twirl

It is obvious within two nanoseconds of watching this episode that Lizzie is Not. Happy. Her jaw is jutting out angrily and her eyes are narrowed. She takes a breath to try and start speaking but then looks too mad to voice whatever thought she just had. She curls in her bottom lip and shakes her head in disgust. Finally, she manages a single word, in a quiet voice that quivers with rage.

" _Caroline_."

This is all that is needed, apparently, as the lead-up to the theme music and animated logo. When we return, we are treated to a few more cuts of Lizzie in various angry poses, sometimes with clenched fists, sometimes with a waggling finger, sometimes shaking her head...but not talking yet.

Finally, we cut to her taking what she's evidently hoping will be a deep, cleansing breath, as she raises her eyes upwards to the ceiling. Slowly moving her gaze back to the camera, she takes another breath, and actually speaks. "Why don't I begin at the beginning."

Clearly making an effort to stay calm, she gestures vaguely towards her office door. "As you saw in my last video, Bing suggested the possibility of me coming over to Darcy's place for dinner over the weekend." Still icily serene, she places her hand back in her lap. "He must have mentioned this idea to Gigi or Darcy at some point, because the next thing I know, Darcy turns to me after the company Valentine's fashion parade 'extravaganza'...and asks me if I would 'do them the honour of dining with them at their home'."

A cut, and she's giving a small smile despite herself, and an admiring headshake. "He has such an old-fashioned way about him, doesn't he?" The side of one mouth quirks up, and she looks at the camera. "It's a unique style, I have to say."

Another cut, and she's back on story, looking less than happy. "Of course, I said yes...how could I _possibly_ have said no? Gigi was standing right behind him, nodding her head eagerly like a puppy." She gives an affectionate laugh. "Honestly, it didn't even occur to me to say I wouldn't go. An evening with Darcy and Gigi sounded really nice...I mean, things with Darcy have been a lot less awkward than you'd think...and Bing would be there too, which was also a plus." Then she sighs. "But it turned out to not be as nice as I'd figured, because _Caroline_ used the evening to be a complete and relentless bit-"

A sudden cut, and she's got her eyes closed, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, muttering, "Happy place, happy place..."

Another cut, and she's looking menacingly into the camera, index finger waving in the air. "And you know what? If she's still watching these videos? Yeah, I am _totally_ cool with her hearing me say all this about her."

Another cut, and her arms are held out in a dramatic gesture. "What really gets me is that she's the _only_ thing about being here that _isn't_ pleasant! Everything else...every _one_ else... _including_ Darcy!...has been so great!"

Another cut, and she's wincing into the camera. "But that utopia ended at dinner, because Caroline had just two goals all evening." She holds up a single finger. "One: Do everything possible to prevent me from having a one-on-one conversation with Bing!" She purses her lips together in frustration. "I mean, you saw the last episode...it wasn't just me, right?" She frowns, looking right into the camera for reassurance. "Bing was _totally_ sad about having left Jane, and was _clearly_ fishing for any kind of information about her...and that thing where he remembered _exactly_ how long it had been since the last time he saw her?" She points at the camera for emphasis. "That did _not_ seem to me to be a guy who doesn't care about my sister. She leans back in her chair. "And he was doing it again at Darcy's!" She waves her hands this way and that as she speaks. "He kept asking about how my 'family' was, and what my 'family' had been doing lately, and every time he said the word 'family', he got this big, dewy-eyed, hopeful look on his face." She drops her shoulders hopelessly and shakes her head. "He could not have been more obvious if he had been wearing a neon sign that said 'I'm Dying For News Of Jane, Please Tell Me Everything'."

She raises her hands in frustration. "What I _really_ wanted to tell him, _of course_ , was that Jane's been living _in the same city as him_ for months now! Not to mention that she's _never stopped caring for him_! But every. single. time. I opened my mouth to say it," she gestures disgustedly with one arm, " _Caroline_ would cut me off, and away we'd go on another topic." She grits her teeth. "I swear she must have pre-written and freakin' _memorized_ all those interruptions, so that she could just fire them off when she needed to without even having to think about it!" Lizzie's nostrils flare, and her upper lip curls. "Oh she was good. Every single one of those conversational detours was _nothing_ I could object to without looking anti-social. And she _know_ s Bing is way too nice to complain about it, either."

A cut, and she's growling in frustration.

Another cut, and she continues, raising up two fingers. "And her _second_ goal...was to get in as many snide little digs at me as possible." She makes a face. "Oh, she was civil enough to me at first...but the more she saw Gigi and I getting along, and the more attention Darcy paid to me..."

A cut, and she's looking sheepish, although not displeased. "Which...yeah...he did...kind of a lot..."

Another cut, and she continues her original train of thought: "...the more that façade of politeness went right out the window."

Another cut, and she's doing a costume theatre portrayal of Caroline, complete with giant fashionista sunglasses and snooty-yet-sickeningly-sweet tone. As she speaks, she ostentatiously twists a lock of her hair twirlingly around a finger. "It must be _such_ an incredible opportunity for you, Lizzie Bennet, to be at Pemberley! Why, it's _almost_ like being finished school and earning an _income_ , isn't it?"

Another cut (twirl, twirl, twirl): "So I understand Gigi's been beating you regularly at tennis lately?"

Another cut (twirly-twirl): "Oh, you must be _sooo_ looking forward to the national swim meet in the summer. I imagine your family's social life would be pretty dull without it!"

Another cut, and the costume pieces are gone - it's just Lizzie now, doing more inarticulate growling.

Another cut, and she's raging. "Finally, she made an _especially_ nasty little insinuation about me and George Wickham. Okay, she didn't actually _say_ George's name, but it was _completely_ obvious that she meant him." Her face contorts. "Now, first of all, _GEORGE WICKHAM_?! As _if_!" She squares her jaw and focuses on the camera. "But _more_ importantly, that little comment of hers was _super_ awkward, and I think Gigi heard it."

Lizzie suddenly blinks, and a faint hint of panic starts up behind her eyes. She blinks again a few times. "I mean...that was bad, because...Gigi grew up knowing George very well, and he turned out to be a total dink!" She nods. Leaning back carefully, she gives a slightly-overemphasized casual shrug. "I bet she just didn't need to be reminded of the guy, that's all. And Darcy heard the comment too, and of course, he got all tense. So...I stayed calm, and did some fast talking to move the conversation somewhere else."

Her eyes narrow. "Of course, _Caroline_ thought I was changing the subject because she'd actually hit a nerve with _me_ , which was incredibly infuriating. But I couldn't contradict her, because that would have made things awkward for _Gigi_ , and...so...well, it _sucked_."

A cut, and she's giving herself a self-mocking thumbs-up. "Way to take one for the team, Lizzie!"

Another cut, and she's looking thoughtfully off to the side. "Darcy seemed really happy that I had helped Gigi out there, though, that was nice."

Another cut, and she's smiling...is it fondly?

Another cut, and she's looking amazed at herself. "Okay, did I just enjoy an implied compliment from Darcy?"

Another cut, and she looks as though a thought has just occurred to her. "Oh! Speaking of Darcy, I guess Caroline actually had _three_ goals at dinner." She holds up the appropriate number of fingers and shoots a disgustedly contemptuous look at the camera. "Throwing herself at him." She rolls her eyes. "Well, I guess I'm not being fair... _throwing_ is a little harsh." She frowns and shakes her head. "But she really was laying the flattery on a little too thick for comfort there." She smirks. "I don't think it made a positive impression on him, though." A small chuckle. "Actually, I think he used talking to me instead as a way to diffuse it."

She looks warily at the camera, and quickly moves on. "So _anyway_ , yeah. Caroline Lee: keeping Jane out of the picture, insulting me, and buttering up Darcy." She looks supremely annoyed. "You know, I am not completely socially inept; there has just _got_ to be a way that I can manage to thwart her plans." The expression she's shooting at the camera turns determined. "I think I'll start by making sure I have some one-on-one time with Bing. I got invited back for dinner at Darcy's next weekend, too. This time, I will _definitely_ find a way to let him know that he and Jane could still totally happen." She shakes a dramatic fist in the air, and cries, "Caroline be damned!"

The screen goes black.


	7. Episode 7: Figuring Things Out

Nothing unexpected greets us as today's video begins: just Lizzie, dressed nicely, sitting in her chair in her office at Pemberley. She seems to be in a decent enough mood, and starts in right away on her monologue: "So this is the end of my third week at Pemberley...or as I like to call it, That Bizarre Alternate Universe Where Darcy Is Actually Human."

A cut, and she's nodding emphatically with wide-open eyes. "Seriously!"

Another cut, and she's gesturing in what is presumably the general direction of Darcy's office. "That nice, polite, friendly, _warm_ Darcy you saw when I first got here?"

Another cut, and she nods again. "Yeah. That's what he's been like _the entire time_ since then."

Another cut, and she's making stabbing gestures with an index finger. "All day. Every day."

Another cut, and she shrugs expansively. "I don't know what happened, or why...but the Darcy-bot? _Gone_."

Another cut: "Vanished!"

Another cut, and she throws her hands in the air. "Poof!"

Another cut, and she's leaning towards the camera, frowning. "And I find myself having to re-evaluate pretty much everything I thought about him before."

Another cut and she's sitting straight up in her chair again. "My name is Lizzie Bennet...and I'm having trouble figuring this one out."

When we return from the animated logo and theme song, Lizzie still looks confused.

"Okay, so...what I still don't understand is how Darcy could be so snobby and douchey last summer...and so warm and lovely and..." she drops her shoulders helplessly, "actually kind of engaging to be around...now?" She opens one hand in an unconscious gesture. "I mean, ordinarily I would assume that a person who changes like that is lying...or has gone through some radical life change...or therapy, or something." She looks directly at the camera, shrugging. "But like I said before...everyone here, where he's worked for _years_ , has made it pretty clear that they've only ever known Nice Darcy."

A thought seems to strike her, and she looks away, pondering. "And actually...that also fits in with what I was wondering a while ago." Her eyes move back to the camera. "I never understood what it was that really great people like Bing and Fitz could ever have seen in him, that they were such good friends." She shakes her head. "But if he's always been like _this_ , that would totally explain it! In fact," she tilts her head, "the only person I met that _hated_ him the way I did was...George Wickham." She makes a moue of distaste. "And it's pretty clear now that _he_ can't be trusted any further than I can throw him." Her eyes widen. "You should hear Mrs. Reynolds talk about him!" She holds up her hands defensively. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the woman is very tactful, but...yeah. She's been here for decades, and has watched Darcy _and_ George grow up, and she says George...uh...'didn't turn out too well'."

A cut, and she gestures again, getting back to the topic of Darcy. "So...where does all this leave us?" She shrugs, talking it all out to herself. "I guess...with just a really super guy who's very shy around new people, and who...maybe...retreats into himself in new situations, and...therefore comes across as all snobby?" Her expression becomes very sheepish, and she winces. "At least, to judgey, snarky girls who aren't willing to give somebody a chance?"

She runs her hands frustratedly through her hair, then fidgets with her fingers. "Which means that Darcy...has got to be the most generous person, like, _ever_." Another frown, and she looks appealingly back at the camera. "I mean, think about it...you fall for a girl who's done nothing but be rude to you...not to mention that she makes friends with probably your _worst enemy_...you're very private and shy, but you suck it up anyway to declare your love for her in front of the _whole world_...she _completely_ cuts you down...and _then_ , when she turns up at the company _you_ run, you not only _don't_ boot her butt out of there, but you're _nice_ to her...and you encourage her to be friends with your _sister_...and you drop by her office...every day..." realisation begins to dawn on her face, "...to...'check in'...and, uh, you come to watch her play tennis most of the time...and..." she clears her throat awkwardly, "suggest that we all go out for tea afterwards...and..."

Lizzie looks very distressed by this point, and falls silent, thinking. After a moment, she leans forward and, with her voice so low it's almost a whisper, confesses, "I think...I think Darcy might...still... _like_ me."

Having thrown this bomb, she leans back, red-faced, and thinks some more. "That would probably explain why Gigi wanted to get to know me...if he's been talking to her about me..."

She exhales slowly, carefully, bringing one hand up to place it feelingly on her chest. It's very hard to read her expression. This realisation certainly doesn't anger her, at least. She looks like she feels guilty...but is that because of the way she's treated Darcy in the past, or because she's thinking of having to let him down a second time? Is that pity we can see in her eyes, or hope?

She casts her eyes upward, and lets out a small, self-derisive little chuckle. "Do you think it would it be totally crazy if-"

Whatever she was about to say is cut off, as we hear a knock at her office door. She looks over and calls out, "Come in?"

A confused mix of pleasure and embarrassment ripples over her face as the door clicks open and she can see who it is.

"Lizzie?" comes Darcy's deep, gentle voice. "Am I disturbing you?"

She smiles genuinely, shaking her head slowly. "No, not at all. Are you rushing off somewhere...did you want to come in?"

A brief pause, then..."That would be nice, thank you."

Darcy's torso and then head enter the frame as he walks around to where Lizzie is sitting and takes a chair himself. It takes him a moment to tear his eyes away from her and notice the camera, but when he does, he sits up straight and stiffly. "You're filming," comes the familiar wry phrase, complete with the familiar single raised eyebrow.

Lizzie gestures quickly towards the camera. "Oh, I can turn it off, if you want-"

Darcy inhales in a self-fortifying sort of way, and turns to her with a smile and a chuckle. "No, that's not necessary. I mean, why stop now?"

Lizzie laughs nervously. "I guess that's true."

Darcy cocks his head, as if to better take in her appearance. "I haven't seen you yet today. I just wanted to ensure everything was as it should be. I understand you spent the morning with the statistics analysis group...was that helpful for you?"

She smiles gratefully back, nodding. "Yes, it...was actually pretty interesting, given that it was, you know..." she chuckles, " _statistics analysis_. Darcy nods affably in response, smiling at her amusement. "But," she goes on, loosening up a little, "we went through some of the A/B testing they've been doing for one of the accounts, and that was cool. The software you've got makes the testing setup really easy."

She receives a dimpled smile as a reward for this compliment, which makes her blink quite a bit. She frowns and looks down at her lap. "Look, Darcy..." A faintly panicked look crosses his features, and he inhales with concern. She looks back up at him with an open, appealing expression. "I just...wanted to thank you."

He relaxes and smiles. "I don't require thanks, Lizzie."

She shakes her head. "No, I really do...I mean, _you_ do. I...you've been so great to me here, especially given...other stuff that happened before..." At this, both of them break eye contact. "But I've been realising...that for you to put that aside and be so...kind..." Here, Darcy starts shaking his head in denial and takes a breath to speak, but she plows on determinedly. "No, it's _not_ nothing, it's...it takes a lot to be so forgiving, and I..." she looks right up at him. "I've been thinking that you're a far better person than I am."

Darcy looks genuinely surprised at this conclusion and immediately brings a hand up defensively. But he doesn't say anything; he just looks at Lizzie in astonishment. At length, he says softly, "I...don't believe that." Tentatively, he places the upraised hand gently on her arm.

Her breath catches. His hand falters a moment, but steadies as he sees she isn't taking offence at the contact.

They stay there a moment, staring at each other - she, appealingly into his eyes; he, intensely into hers. Unconsciously, they lean towards each other slightly, and he drops his gaze lower, to her mouth. Her eyes do the same to his. He swallows, his breath coming a bit stronger. A moment later, and he glances fleetingly at the camera. He looks back at Lizzie, presses his lips together, takes a deep breath, and leans back again.

She sits up straight as well, looking confused. He smiles at her. "I think...that I am very much looking forward to your coming to dinner again this weekend," he ventures. "I find it less inhibiting to have a conversation in a...less public setting." Unconsciously, his eyes again flick briefly towards the camera.

Lizzie's eyes follow his glance, shifting over and back again, and then she, too, smiles, visibly relaxing. "True," she concedes. "Well, then..."

His answering expression is rather delighted, and he nods, patting her arm once gently before withdrawing his hand and standing up. "I'll leave you to your work," he tells her quietly.

She nods back, smiling up at him. Her eyes follow his path out of her office. As soon as her door clicks shut, she looks right at the camera. She takes a breath to say something, then pauses, and winces.

"Oh, shut up!" she tells the audience exasperatedly.

The screen goes black.


	8. Episode 8: An Awful Thing

There's a startling surprise waiting for us as the video begins - Lizzie is not sitting at her desk at Pemberley. Instead, she's in her bedroom at home. And it's pretty clear right away that something is very wrong - her eyes look swollen and red, and there are dark circles under them which mutely announce that she hasn't been sleeping much lately. Her whole demeanour has changed dramatically, too - she seems sad, drained, hopeless.

When she speaks, her tone is quiet and unhappy. "Hi." A deep breath. "As you can see, I'm...not at Pemberley anymore. I had to come home." Her mouth twists. "I'm sure you're wondering what's happened." She looks over to the side and raises her eyebrows. "I wasn't actually planning to tell you anything about it, but then...I was thinking about Pemberley, and remembering something the editing guys told me." She takes a big breath and looks back at the camera. "They said, 'Don't cut the juicy stuff. It may be scary, and it may make things messy, but it makes things real and powerful, and that's what people respond to.'"

She looks down and sighs. "So...this is really hard for me, because it's very personal, and very bad, and very...embarrassing...and has already cost me..." here she hesitates, looking even more despondent, "some...friends...but..." she chews on her bottom lip a bit, "like I've said before, these videos are kind of bigger than me now...and what's happened is definitely 'juicy stuff', so..."

She purses her lips and raises her chin, turning her gaze back squarely onto the camera. "My name is Lizzie Bennet...and something awful has happened."

The suspense over the few seconds it takes to play the animated logo and theme song is fairly agonizing, but when we come back to Lizzie, it's to see her back in her office at Pemberley. She looks excited and cheerful, and greets the audience with enthusiasm. "Hi there, Internet!" She does a quick glance about her office. "It's pretty late in the day on Friday, and I wanted to do some filming for you before I left the office for the week. I'm going over to Darcy's again for dinner tomorrow, and..." she tilts her head with a sly smile, "I'm not quite sure what's going to come out of that, so I thought I should probably do the filming for my next video _before_ going over there."

She smiles reassuringly. "But don't worry, I'll be sure to tell you all about it after-"

Her words get cut off as her phone goes off, with a cheery, uplifting little ringtone. She blinks, startled, then smiles apologetically and reaches down to check it. "That's Jane," she explains. "Sorry, I'm just going to read this really quickly, because she hasn't texted me in _ages_!" She pulls out the phone and fiddles with it for a second, reading the screen.

Suddenly, her expression changes completely, from one of pleased expectation, to horror and panic. "Oh...no!" she exclaims. She stands up, shaking, and then immediately sits back down again, as though she doesn't know what to do with herself. A faint knocking sound can be heard, but she doesn't seem to notice it. "No...NO!" she cries again, her horrified eyes still fixed on her phone, as her fingers tap on it some more, her breath starting to come faster.

We can hear the sound of her door opening, and then Darcy's voice, confused and inquiring. "Lizzie? Are you alr-" We hear him take in a sharp breath, and then rapid, ever-louder footsteps. It only takes a second or two for him to become visible on the screen. He grabs a chair and sits down next to Lizzie, reaching out to touch her arms. "My god, what is it? What's happened?" he asks, her eyes frantically but tenderly searching her face.

Lizzie tears her eyes from her phone to look up at him. His look of concern deepens as he sees how upset she is. His hands slide further up her arms in an unconscious effort to comfort her. "Is someone ill? Your family? How can I help?"

She makes no immediate answer; all we hear is her fluttered breathing. It looks like it's killing Darcy to wait for her to speak. But he makes a visible effort to calm himself, although he's obviously still very worried. "Can I get you anything? Please let me help...you seem so...distressed."

Lizzie swallows and blinks rapidly, starting to shake her head. "No...no, no...no...thank you. _I'm_ okay. I just..." she glances down at her phone. "Jane's just sent me some _horrible_...news!" Despite her best efforts to keep it together, her voice is now thick with tears, and her eyes well up. A few tears spill down over her cheeks.

Darcy involuntarily starts towards her as if to envelop her in a comforting hug, but checks himself and leans back, hunching lower to bring his face down to be even with hers. "Oh, no," he utters sympathetically. He seems tense and suspenseful as he waits for Lizzie to regain her voice.

She tries to take some deep breaths, then closes her eyes before looking down at her phone again. "It's...Lydia," she explains. "Jane says that she's...been arrested!"

This takes Darcy quite by surprise, and he sits up straight again. "What?" he exclaims.

Lizzie nods, more tears spilling out of her eyes onto her lap. "She was stopped by the police when she was driving, and they found out that she had _drugs_ with her." She shakes her head frantically in pointless denial before continuing. "Jane says Lydia's told them she had _no idea_ about the drugs, and that the package was given to her to deliver somewhere by..." she gives a choked sob, looking straight up into Darcy's face, " _George Wickham_!"

Darcy's face goes blank, and his hands drop from her arms in sudden realisation. "You mean..." he says quietly, "exactly what he tried to con Georgiana into doing."

More tears track down Lizzie's face as she nods. "And he's nowhere to be found!" She gives a harsh laugh, and looks down at her phone again. "Not that he would ever actually _confess_ to such a thing even if he _was_ brought in." Her eyes return to Darcy's face. " _You_ know him well enough for that...that's exactly why he gave the package to Lydia in the first place, so she could take the fall if things fell apart!" Tears start to flow again. "We have no lawyer, and she has no one who can verify her story...she'll be sent to jail for _years_!"

Darcy seems frozen with shock as Lizzie gives a harsh, choked, sob, crying out, "This is my fault! Lydia connected with him in Vegas, and she went there because of _me_! And even if she would've gone anyway, I could still have stopped this! I _knew_ how awful he was! If I'd only explained some of what I knew, this _never_ would have happened!" She drops her phone down in her lap and clutches her hands to her face with an agonized expression.

Darcy looks at her steadily. "Is anything being done to help her?"

Lizzie gives a helpless shrug, more tears spilling over. "My father's gone to the courthouse where she's being held...but I don't know what he can do. I'm sure posting bail isn't possible, and as for representation...she'll have only a public defender, who won't be able to do _anything_ for her. There's no _way_ we'll be able to find George! There's no hope at all!" She cries some more, running her hands desperately through her hair. "Oh, I should have said something about him before I came here! I should have done more to keep him away from us! But I was afraid of saying too much!" She shakes her head angrily. "But that was so stupid, I'm sure I could have said _something_ that wouldn't have made her mad...and wouldn't have betrayed your letter, either." She sobs again. "This is all my fault!"

Darcy has become increasingly stiff throughout all this, leaning away from Lizzie, his posture becoming ever straighter, rather like a man slowly turning to stone. Lizzie's crying eventually lessens as she begins to notice this. She looks up into his face searchingly, watching his hardening jaw, his now-flinty eyes. She swallows and leans back away from him, even more sadness settling over her face. Finally, it becomes too much for her and she looks away, wiping at her eyes with her sleeves.

Her eyes light on the camera as she does so, and she gasps. "Oh," she exclaims, "the camera's still on!" She turns back to Darcy with an entreating expression. "Don't worry, I'll...I'll edit it all out, I won't post anything about Gigi."

Darcy looks thoughtful, then shakes his head decisively. "No...no." he says in a hard, sure tone. "Enough evil has come from concealing _that_ truth." He casts his gaze downwards, frowns, and takes a breath. "I wish I could say something to make you feel better. But..." He stiffens again, and his eyebrows raise. When he speaks, his tone is cold and formal. "Of course it will be impossible for you to visit us tomorrow."

Lizzie gives another sob, looking up at him hopelessly. "Oh..." she says, even more energy seeming to drain out of her, "...yes...of course, you wouldn't want..." She looks tremendously upset, but lifts her chin proudly. "Please apologize to Gigi for me," she manages to get out in a quiet voice.

He nods shortly. "Of course. And you'll want to get home immediately...I'll get Mrs. Reynolds to book a flight for you."

Her mouth drops open. "Oh no...no, I couldn't, that would be-"

He cuts her off with a shake of his head. "I insist. You need to leave as quickly as possible...to get back to your family. Please allow me to help."

At this, Lizzie seems to lose all resistance. Her face takes on a truly hopeless expression, and more tears fall from her eyes as she nods numbly.

Squaring his shoulders, Darcy stands, and we can no longer see his face. "I will get her to arrange it for you immediately." There is an awkward pause. "I hope...I hope it all works out for the best," he concludes lamely. In a stronger tone, he adds, "Please give my best to your family." Another pause, and his voice softens a bit as he takes his leave. "Goodbye."

Lizzie sniffs and nods, not looking at him as he walks out of the frame. As his footsteps fade and the door clicks shut behind him, she begins, weakly and heartbrokenly, to cry some more.

The screen goes black.


End file.
